Who Cares?
by CafeMochaGirl
Summary: While traveling through the forest, Ash collapses, and Iris leaves to find a doctor or someone to help. Now Ash and Cilan are alone. Will this change the Connoisseur's view on the trainer? Crappy one-shot written in 20 minutes. CafeMochaShipping.


"Ash, you're such a kid!" Iris screamed. He didn't yell back for once, just rolled his eyes and kept on walking.

To be truthful, he wasn't trying to ignore her. He actually found it nice that she would yell at him so that he'd talk back. But so much was going on. He couldn't help it. His mind was everywhere- well, sort of.

_I can't believe Grandpa might die… It's such a scary thought… Cilan… I wish he'd notice that I'm upset… No, stop thinking about him! He's just you're traveling partner! What about Blaze? He's… Hurt… He might not live… Cilan may be able to figure out how to help him if he were there… Cut it out, Ash! There's still Dawn! She could get hurt out in the wilderness, all by herself! But then again, so could Cilan… And Iris! Stop thinking about just Cilan! Argh, why can't I get him out of my mind?_

He glanced over at the Pokemon Connoisseur, and after a moment or two, Cilan must have felt someone looking at him, because he looked back at Ash. The trainer almost gasped before he turned back to face the path, knowing that his face was red.

"Is something wrong, Ash?"

_Crap… Busted! _"N-No, no, everything's fine!" He laughed nervously, looking back at him.

"Okay… If you're sure, because you've been acting… calm today. Kind of like… mint leaf tea."

Ash immediately felt his face heat up, and he looked back at the path quickly before Cilan could notice.

"I'm fine…"

Knowing not to push him, for fear of hurting the boy, Cilan just nodded and let him be silent.

For a while longer, they all walked in silence. Cilan spent the time worrying about Ash.

_Is he sick…? His cheeks are kind of red… But he's not pale… Must be thinking of some girl… Probably that Dawn chick… Why… Why do I get so angry at the thought of him and Dawn dating? Do I…? No. I just… No. I can't have a crush on Ash. I'm straight. I'm straight. I'm just… Straight. …Right?_

He couldn't help but stare at Ash for a moment or two. _Maybe… Just maybe… His spicy flavor will change me._

Suddenly, the younger boy's eyes closed, and he started to fall forwards. Both Cilan and Iris gasped, but Cilan ran and caught him just before he hit the ground. The green-haired Connoisseur lay him down so that he was on his back, and he checked his temperature.

"Not good…"

Iris ran over and checked it too, just to be sure, since she didn't trust anyone but Axew. She bit her lip and looked at Cilan.

"Should… Should I go find a doctor?"

"Yes, that's an extremely tasteful idea. Go find one quick, okay?"

She nodded and jumped into the trees, off to find help. Cilan turned to Ash, worried, and then noticed him shivering. Looking around, reminding himself that no one else was there but Pikachu, he sighed, knowing what had to be done in a quickly. He pulled his pack off before taking off his vest and putting it on top of the younger boy. Pikachu nuzzled its trainer in worry, and Cilan gave it a reassuring pet.

"Don't worry, Pikachu… He'll be fine…" _I hope…_

He gently picked him up and brought him into the shade, where he then put his sleeping bag over top of him. Breathing a sigh of relief, he leaned against the tree they were in the shade of. Ash had finally stopped shivering- well, mostly. After a minute, he got back up and got a wet cloth, laying it on Ash's feverish forehead to bring it down. Unfortunately, that just made him shiver more. Cilan ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

_This is not good… What if he's really sick? So sick that I can't do anything? Get a hold of yourself, Cilan. He's probably just… Caught a small,24-hour flu bug. Yeah, that's it. He'll be fine. Just calm yourself._

A small groan jolted him out of his thoughts. His green eyes quickly darted to the younger, just as his brown eyes fluttered open. He quickly crawled over to his side.

"What… What happened…?"

"You fainted," Cilan gingerly informed. When Ash saw that it was just Cilan, his eyes widened, and he quickly sat up, giving him a huge hug. Cilan knew that his face was turning red. Awkwardly, he returned the hug, and when he heard a small sob coming from Ash, he knew that something was wrong.

"Ash… What's wrong?" He whispered.

"I… I thought you were dead…"

"What do you mean?"

"I-Iris was off somewhere, and w-we were just t-talking… Just u-us… and a Dragonite… I-It came into our c-campsite and started attacking u-us… I-It pinned me d-down with its tail a-and used H-Hyper Beam on you… I-I'm so sorry I couldn't s-save you!"

Cilan had never seen Ash crying before, and especially not this hard. He held the young trainer until the sobs put him to sleep. When Cilan laid him back down, he whispered, "Sweet dreams, my Ash." He put the covers back on him and leaned against the tree, watching Ash sleep.

_He's so cute when he sleeps… No, Cilan, don't… Don't deny it. You like him. You can say it. I like Ash Ketchum. That feels… oddly… tasteful. I like Ash Ketchum. I'm in love with Ash Ketchum. It feels like I've been holding it in for so long, and now I've let it out…_

He knew he would be blushing when Iris came back. He knew that she'd scream when he told her. He knew his brothers would stare in shock before starting to make fun of it for the rest of his life. He knew that if Ash didn't like him back, everything would be terribly awkward. He knew that no body would ever look at him the same way again.

But honestly: Who cared?


End file.
